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WUKO rules? what are they?

Looking at entering my guys in as many competitions as I can, a new era for my school

I have the chance of one which is the rules will basicly be the old WUKO rules, one ref and a mirror judge for the kumite , it will be shobu sanbon for adults and possibly shobu nihon for the juniors .

"Contact is allowed to the body as long as no bones or ribs are being broken ( adults ) , and contact is allowed to the face , but only skin contact ,( the face after contact , should be the same as it was before contact , no marks ! ) if you draw blood , it's disqualification .

Juniors under 16 , there is no face contact allowed , you can go for the face and if the opponent makes no attempt to block it and the punch or kicks stops within 50 mm of the face , it should be scored .

But I've only practiced Knockdown rules can someone advise rthe Shobu Sanbon /Nihon to me and possibly add some clips from you tube as it would take me a lifetime to find the correct material etc

WUKO (World Union of Karate Organisations) rules died out a few years ago as far as I'm aware.

I still remember going to WUKO tournaments and thinking what a farce it all was. The rules at the time were strictly non contact so taps that wouldn't hurt a 4 year old had senior dan grades rolling around in agony - until their opponent was warned or penalised.

I know some have no choice, as if that is their group or styles prefered system they are obliged to train that way. But for you and your club Ken, if you have a choice I wouldn't bother.

In the BKK the juniors fought WUKO with no contact, then progressed to 'clicker' ie with the scores recorded on a handheld device without the fight being stopped every time, then the seniors - if they wished - fought knockdown.

It worked well as skill and precision (WUKO) added to stamina (Clicker) build a good base for Knockdown. Quite whether it is possible to make that transition in reverse is anybodys guess. I hope it doesn't just confuse people.

Our club and federation (we're small so we can get away with it) use the old WUKO rules for all competition sparring. In fact I've never competed using any other ruleset so it's all I know... I suppose for anyone used to different rules it'd be a tad alien!

In our most recent federation competition we had a couple of disagreements between newer and older clubs as a result of those who were new to the format not quite understanding them, or rather not having enough experience of them (hardly their fault) and when blood was drawn, and competitors were then rightly DQ'd, unhappiness ensued. Hey ho.